


They Call Him the Prince of Rocker

by pizZiCcato



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 16:42:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6712861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pizZiCcato/pseuds/pizZiCcato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cato hadn't always been the person he is right now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	They Call Him the Prince of Rocker

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [~STARKEY~ Dream Believer](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5763052) by [Miseru9](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miseru9/pseuds/Miseru9). 



> Miseru9 wrote a fic using my original character. I figured I might as well write a completely unimportant backstory for this character of mine.
> 
> This is probably really shitty because I don't have a beta reader.
> 
> (I probably overestimated my character a little bit here lol)

In Shinkoshoku Music Academy, there aren’t many who haven’t heard of Cato. You can try stopping a random student on their way to class and ask if they knew him. More often than not, you will get a yes for an answer. If you decide to ask further on their knowledge of that person, you will get a range of different answers, but they are usually the same things with different wording.

_“Oh yeah, I’ve heard of him. The Prince of Rocker, right?”_

_“I heard that Cato is an excellent musician and lyricist.”_

_“Cato from the High-S Class, right? Yeah, I know him. I’ve talked to him a few times. He helped me write lyrics once. He’s a good person.”_

The Prince of Rocker, an excellent musician. Many people seem to think that when they hear Cato’s name. Some have admitted to feeling intimidated by him.

Then what if I tell you that not too long ago, Cato had been the one who’d been feeling intimidated by other musicians? What if I tell you that not too long ago, he can’t even sing without falling silent halfway through?

 

_“You want to sing with that shrieking voice of yours? I think you’ll have better luck finding a parrot that raps.”_

Those words were first said to six-year-old Keith when he tried to sing for one of his classmates’ birthday. It wounded his pride, but he only looked away and laughed awkwardly.

The girl who’d insulted him didn’t seem guilty at all for her own words. She’d scoffed and stuck her nose up in the air when Keith laughed.

(She didn’t know how much work Keith had put into practicing this song. She didn’t know how much he had hoped for her approval, because he liked her.)

(Looking back on it, Keith couldn’t believe there had been a time when that girl had been his crush.)

Keith’s classmates laughed at the girl’s words, as if it’s the funniest thing in the world. It probably was for them, but certainly not for Keith. Even so, Keith laughed with them, because it’s easier to laugh than to cry.

Those words seemed to become a trend after that. Whenever Keith tried to sing, or even hum a song, his classmates would say, _“You want to sing with that shrieking voice of yours? I think you’ll have better luck finding a parrot that raps.”_ Whenever that happened, Keith would look away and laugh awkwardly, just like when he first heard those words.

It took a few months for the joke to get old. But a few months was enough to make a kid lose all confidence in his own voice.

 

Keith may have lost confidence in his voice, but he still liked music a lot. So he decided, even if he never got to sing again, he still wants music in his life. He then asked his parents for a guitar, because he had seen many people who taught themselves how to play it and turn out to be pretty good.

The first time Keith strummed his guitar, he knew right away that he had found the love of his life.

 

A few weeks before Keith turned ten, a new student transferred to his school.

The new student introduced himself as Makoto, a Japanese student in an overseas program. He seemed to be a fairly excitable young boy. Keith found people like Makoto to be quite a handful and often felt intimidated by their presence, so he stayed away. He liked his peace, thank you very much. He’d rather avoid all the ruckus of the class and stay in his seat, as secluded from everyone else as possible.

(That’s probably why Keith didn’t have friends. People often call him a weirdo, because he rarely speaks. But that’s really because his voice sucks.)

Keith stayed away from everyone in his class, so almost nobody knew that he was in the school’s music club, even if it’s only to play his guitar. That’s okay, because it’s not like anyone would care enough to seek him out.

At least that’s how it was supposed to be.

Three days before Keith turned ten, Makoto suddenly showed up in the music room after school. Funnily enough, Keith was the only one present at that time. The seniors were supposed to be there since about five minutes ago, but there was still no sign of them.

Makoto first looked around the music room awkwardly, as if he was stepping into foreign grounds. Then his eyes settled on Keith. He grinned and spoke in surprisingly fluent English, “Heeey, I’m here looking for someone, do you know him?”

Keith felt his eye twitch. Makoto’s voice is too loud in the small music room. “How am I supposed to know? You didn’t tell me who it is.”

Makoto stared at Keith for a moment. Keith didn’t do anything weird, did he? “Ah, yeah, sorry, wait a sec,” He dug in his pockets and pulled out a piece of paper, “Uh, the name’s… Kei… Kay? Kei-to? Kate?” He frowned at the paper, as if it had offended him.

Keith felt his eye twitch again. “It’s Keith,” he said, more to tell Makoto how to pronounce his name than anything, “And what business do you have with me?”

Makoto blinked at Keith. “Oh, so it’s you. Great, I don’t have to go around the school to find you.” He strode into the room and toward Keith. “I ran into some seniors on my way to the school gates. They told me to give these to you.”

Keith silently accepted the ring of keys and the folded piece of paper Makoto handed to him. On the paper’s outer side, the word ‘Keith’ was scrawled messily. Keith unfolded the paper and quickly read the words written inside.

_“We’re going to a live concert. Lock the room when you leave.”_

Keith frowned as he refolded the paper. “Alright, I got it. You can leave now,” he said, expecting Makoto to be standing in front of him, which was where he had been just moments ago. But he wasn’t there.

Confused, Keith looked around the room. Makoto was standing a few feet away, staring at the small collection of instruments their music room held. “I didn’t know our school had a music room,” he said.

“Of course we do. You’ve done what you came here for, so you can leave now. I still have to practice.” Keith picked up his guitar and sat on the chair he had previously occupied. There was the soft sound of footsteps, which Keith originally thought to be Makoto leaving the room. He noticed too late that they were approaching him.

“I swear I’ve seen you before, but I can’t remember where or when,” Makoto said as he settled himself on the seat across from Keith. “What class are you in?”

Keith frowned, annoyed, but answered nonetheless. “4 – 1.”

Makoto raised his eyebrows. “Eh, so we’re in the same class? Why don’t I remember seeing you around?”

Keith looked away. “Of course you don’t. I don’t like attention, so I avoid people.”

“Hmm,” Makoto rested his chin on his hand, “But playing music usually attracts attention, don’t you think?”

“I don’t need you to tell me that. If you’re only here to pester me, why don’t you leave and use your time for something more productive?”

“I wasn’t pestering you, though. I’m just curious. Hey, you play the guitar, right? Can you teach me something? Or can you play a song for me?”

Keith frowned. “No. Like I said, I don’t like attention. Go away.”

“Nuh-uh. I’m gonna stay here until you show me something.”

Their banter continued for some time, during which Keith learned that Makoto is very stubborn. Keith is stubborn too, but he really wanted to play his guitar already, so in the end, he gave in with a sigh. “Fine. You better not disturb me.”

Makoto gave him a triumphant grin. Keith’s eye twitched for the nth time that day, but he ignored the menace in front of him in favor of finally playing his guitar. He positioned his fingers on the fingerboard slowly and strummed the strings.

Surprisingly enough, Makoto stayed silent and listened attentively as Keith played. _So he has peaceful moments too_ , Keith thought, but said nothing.

The peace lasted for all of one song. When Keith looked up after the final chord, Makoto was looking at him intently. “You’re good,” he said.

Keith blinked. “Thanks.”

Makoto tilted his head, eyes still fixed on Keith. “Y’know, some people choose to play the guitar because it lets them sing and play at the same time. Why don’t you try that?”

Keith barely noticed his own grip tightening on his guitar. “I don’t sing. Now get out of here, didn’t you say you’ll leave after I play something for you?”

Half-expecting Makoto to say no, Keith was quite surprised when he got up to leave without another word. He only stopped at the doorway to look over his shoulder and say, “I’ll be back tomorrow, so you better have a song ready for me.”

_What_ , Keith thought, and was about to shout that no, he will not have a song ready for him tomorrow, but Makoto was already gone by the time Keith had found the words he wanted to say.

Keith sat there in stunned silence for some time after that. _Yeah_ , he thought, _people like Makoto are a handful._

 

Keith spent a good portion of his evening worrying over the possibility of Makoto approaching him in class the next day, which he really didn’t want to happen because he _hated_ attention. To his great relief, Makoto didn’t approach him in class. But he glanced Keith’s way a few times too many.

_At least he didn’t straight up attract attention to Keith._

Keith allowed himself to hope that Makoto wouldn’t try to find him in the music room later, because maybe he’d lost interest in Keith after leaving the music room the previous day. But Makoto stayed true to his words and went to find Keith in the music room after school.

(A small part of Keith was actually happy about this, because nobody’s ever bothered to stick with him, even if it’s only for a day.)

“Yo,” Makoto called out, still with that too loud voice, “Do you have a song ready for me?”

_Where are the seniors when you need them?_ “I don’t sing, so don’t expect me to.” Keith shook his bangs into his face, because he didn’t like the way Makoto was staring at him.

“Why don’t you?” Makoto seated himself across from Keith.

Keith briefly noted that they were sitting in the exact same spot as yesterday. “I just don’t.”

“There’s got to be a reason. Have you ever tried to sing? You won’t know unless you try.”

Keith’s finger twitched on his guitar. “I’ve tried and it was terrible. I’ll have better luck finding a parrot that raps.”

Silence. Keith didn’t know what to make of that silence. Then there was a laugh, which made Keith look at Makoto in puzzlement. Makoto laughed harder when he noticed Keith’s eyes on him.

_What’s so funny?_ Keith frowned and kept staring at Makoto until he calmed down. It took a while, during which Keith learned that Makoto had impressive lung capacity.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh at you, but,” Makoto snickered, “’I’ll have better luck finding a parrot that raps’? Really, what’s that? Where did you even hear that from?”

Keith’s finger twitched again. He lowered his face, because the words he was about to say made him insecure. “That’s what everyone said when I tried to sing.”

Silence again. Makoto was probably laughing at him again, so Keith kept his face down. Why did he even tell Makoto that? They don’t even know each other that well, and Makoto didn’t ask for a story.

Keith suddenly didn’t feel like playing his guitar anymore, which is a rare occurrence. “I’m going home now,” he said to nobody in particular. He started putting his guitar away.

Makoto didn’t stop him. Keith took it as a sign that he’d lost interest in him.

(A small part of Keith was disappointed, because he wanted someone to care about him, even if it’s only a little.)

 

The following Sunday was Keith’s birthday. It was spent in front of the TV. His parents were busy at work so they couldn’t spend the day with him. They apologized profusely – his mother even teared up – so Keith didn’t blame them.

Still, it would be nice to have some company.

Suddenly, there was the loud sound of electric guitar playing. Keith jumped. He recognized it as the intro to some rock song that was his phone’s ringtone. His phone has never made a peep since he got it for his birthday last year, so he’d almost forgotten the ringtone he’d set for phone calls. He cautiously eyed the still ringing object on top of the table. Yeah, it’s his phone. But he didn’t remember giving his number to anyone other than his parents and the school for registry purposes.

He looked at the number on display. It was an unknown number. Should he answer the call? His first thought was no, because answering calls from strangers is stupid, but what if it’s important? Maybe his parents’ phones had run out of battery so they borrowed their friend’s phone.

With that thought in mind, Keith picked up his phone. “Hello?”

_“This is Kei-to, right?”_

Hey, he recognized that weird way of saying his name. “Makoto?”

_“Yeah, it’s me. Let’s get to the point. Open Animal Planet right now.”_

Keith frowned. “What? Why should I?” He was already reaching for the remote control.

_“You’ll see.”_

Keith noted the glee in Makoto’s voice as he switched the channels.

Huh.

_“They said you’ll have better luck finding a parrot that raps, right?”_ Keith could imagine the triumphant grin on Makoto’s face as he stared at the TV screen, stunned.

Keith had dismissed the words said back then as a figurative way of speech to show just how terrible he was at singing, and didn’t think it was even possible to find a parrot that raps. But on the TV screen was a parrot that raps. It raps like a pro, even. Keith felt a strange swelling sensation in his chest.

_“There you have it. A parrot that raps. Cool, huh?”_

There was a laugh. Keith didn’t realize that it was his own at first, because it’s been ages since he last laughed so openly. He heard the staticky sound of laughter from the other side of the line, which must be Makoto laughing with him.

_“You better have a song ready for me tomorrow, Kei.”_

Keith didn’t even have it in him to respond to Makoto’s words, because he was too happy over something that must seem really stupid to others, but does it really matter?

(Later that evening, Keith finally realized that Makoto had decided to call him ‘Kei’. Were their relationship close enough for Makoto to give him a nickname?)

(Where did he even get Keith’s number?)

 

Keith may have finally decided that he can sing, but that doesn’t mean he’s good at it.

“Wow, you suck,” Makoto said, less than one day after the phone conversation that enlightened Keith.

Keith scowled. “Gee, thanks.”

Makoto waved his hand. “No, it’s not like that. You’re holding your voice back. Let it out, you can’t sing properly otherwise.”

Keith lowered his head. “How do I even do that? I know nothing about singing and it’s been years since the last time I tried.”

“Hmm,” Makoto tilted his head in thought, “You can start by shouting.”

Keith blinked at Makoto.

Makoto sighed. “Look, Kei, I know I’ve only known you for four days, but I’ve seen you before that and I don’t think I’ve ever heard you speak before we first officially met. You can’t sing without letting other people hear your voice, you know.”

Keith lowered his head. “But my voice sucks.”

“I thought we were over that!” Makoto threw his hand in the air and groaned. “The parrot thing ended that, right? Come on, you won’t know unless you try, remember that!”

“You say that, but it’s not that easy to get over something like that, you know. I mean, I’ve been thinking my voice sucks for years, I can’t suddenly change that.” Keith rubbed his arm and kept his eyes down, because admitting that out loud was really embarrassing.

Makoto was silent for a moment. “Then I’ll tell you this: You have a voice that draws attention in a good way. I mean, the first time I heard you speak, I wanted to hear more of your voice. It’s not something that can be explained easily, but that’s what I think.”

Keith looked up, stunned. Makoto was looking at him, not the slightest bit embarrassed. How could he say something like that so easily?

“That was embarrassing, wasn’t it?” Makoto said, suddenly flustered. “Wow, that’s embarrassing. I’m stunned.” He buried his face in his hands and groaned.

Keith blinked. Makoto stayed still and silent. Seeing that, Keith felt like laughing, but he managed to hide it with a scoff. But the urge to laugh was still there, so after a moment of debating with himself, Keith started laughing. First it was just a small giggle, then it started getting louder until Keith was full on laughing.

Makoto looked up to give him a puzzled look, but Keith couldn’t stop laughing. He laughed so hard there were tears in his eyes. Even then he couldn’t stop laughing.

When Keith finally stopped, Makoto was looking at him in wonder. “See,” he said, “You can let your voice out.”

Keith blinked. _Oh,_ he thought, _so it’s like that. Yeah, I can do that._

 

Keith’s mother seemed surprised when she came home to find him singing in his room. He’d immediately stopped because he’s still too embarrassed to sing in front of others, but she’d smiled at him so very gently and said, “I’m glad you’re finally trying to sing again.”

Keith was silent for a moment. He’d almost forgotten how he’d cried to his mother after he was made fun of back then, how he’d sworn not to sing again and how she’d told him not to give up on something if he really loved it.

His mother must’ve always believed that if he really liked music, he would someday start singing again.

A smile slowly spread on Keith’s face. “I won’t give up this time, Mom.”

 

Before Keith realized it, Makoto had been spending every day in the music room with him, even when the seniors are there.

He remembered how the seniors had given him and Makoto very surprised looks, because Keith rarely even spoke with them, so they probably assumed that he couldn’t make friends.

They weren’t wrong on that one. Keith still wondered how he managed to somewhat befriend Makoto.

Today happened to be one of those days when the seniors aren’t present. It’s not really strange, though, because recently they’ve been going to live concerts of some sort more often than ever.

A question suddenly crossed Keith’s head. “Makoto,” he called, “Why are you spending your time with me when you can do that with others?”

Makoto blinked at him from where he was looking out the window. “Are you saying you don’t like spending time with me?”

Keith felt like slapping himself, or maybe Makoto. “That’s not what I meant. I mean, you can make friends easily, so why bother with me?”

Makoto rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window again. “Hmm. I’m not sure why. You seemed interesting enough, I guess?”

Keith stared. “You can’t be serious.”

“What makes you say that?”

“What part of me seemed interesting?”

Makoto glanced at him and said nothing for a moment. Then he smirked. “Maybe I’ll tell you when you can finally sing in public.”

From the looks of it, he seemed to think that Keith will definitely be able to do that.

 

“Hey, there’s this thing called SoundCloud. Why don’t you try uploading your singing there?”

Keith gave Makoto an incredulous look. Makoto didn’t seem bothered by it, and instead prattled on, “You can use cool display names too. Not that your name isn’t cool enough, but it seems kind of lacking when used as a display name, don’t you think? Let’s see… Kei… Kei-to… Kay-to… Cato? Yeah, that seems good enough.”

Keith blinked at the four-letter word Makoto had written on his notebook. When he looked up, Makoto was grinning very brightly at him, as if he had found a mountain of sweets or something.

For some reason, seeing Makoto’s grin made Keith want to smile. “Yeah, sure. That sounds cool.”

Makoto stared at Keith for a moment. “Hey, Kei.”

“What?”

“You should smile more often. You don’t seem so hard to approach that way.”

 

Keith must’ve let himself gotten too used to having Makoto around him that he’d forgotten the fact that Makoto was only there on an overseas program.

That must be why Keith couldn’t immediately process Makoto’s words about going back to Japan.

“You’re… going back to Japan?”

Makoto blinked at him. “Yeah, of course. If I stay any longer, I’ll have to cover my living expenses myself and my family can’t afford that.”

Keith’s mind finally caught up with the conversation. “Oh. When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow night.”

 

The next day saw Keith and Makoto sitting in the music room for the last time. Keith still couldn’t sing out loud, despite his greatest efforts. This is the last time he’s going to see Makoto for an indefinite amount of time, so he wanted to show Makoto something memorable, and yet…

“Kei.”

Keith looked up. Makoto was smiling at him. Not grinning, not smirking, he was smiling at Keith.

It’s probably the first time Keith saw Makoto smile like this.

Keith must’ve made a strange face, because the next moment, Makoto was laughing. “You know, you can’t force yourself to sing.”

_Was I that obvious?_ “I’m really trying hard, you know.”

Silence. “There’s always next time, you know.”

Silence again. “When is next time?”

“I don’t know, but there’s always next time. You just have to prepare yourself for it, what’s the problem with that?”

Keith looked down. He wasn’t sure how to reply.

Makoto kicked Keith’s shin lightly. Keith looked up. Makoto smiled. “You better have a song ready for me next time.”

 

Life returned to normal after Makoto left, maybe.

Keith still couldn’t make friends. He’s also still in the music club. The seniors still only show up when they feel like it.

No, there are some things that are different. Like, Keith is now trying harder to sing properly. But he kept feeling that he’s not improving, so after days of thinking, he talked to his parents.

“I want to go to music school.”

His father was surprised, but his mother wasn’t. They’ll think about it, they said, and the decision was made rather quickly.

When the school year ends, he’s going to Shinkoshoku Music Academy, a boarding school dedicated to teaching music. He did his research on the academy and found that it’s the best his parents could possibly afford.

He can’t express enough of his gratitude for his parents.

So, as soon as the school year ended, he started making preparations. A few days before the next school year started, he departed to Shinkoshoku along with other students.

 

_Whoa_ , he remembered thinking, _this place is big._

As the academy came into view, Keith and many other students couldn’t stop staring, because the building is huge and beautiful and Keith couldn’t find any words to describe what it looks like. But it’s not like he needed to anyway, because there’s nobody he can share his thoughts with.

It seems he won’t be able to make any friends here either.

Not his fault, though. It’s not like he’s telling everyone to stay away from him.

He glanced to the side and caught one of the girls looking at him. He stared right back, because what was he supposed to do?

_“You should smile more often. You don’t seem so hard to approach that way.”_

Keith pondered about it for a moment and decided, why not? He gave the girl a smile. She blinked in surprise and smiled back. After saying something to her friend, she approached Keith.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

Keith blinked. That was quick. But he’s not used to giving his name to people, much less people he’s meeting for the first time. But not giving his name is quite rude too, and he’s not looking to making enemies this early. What to do…

_Cato._

Ah, he can use that. After all, that name had been derived from his real name.

(Makoto had given him that name. Keith wouldn’t be here, on his way to Shinkoshoku, if it hadn’t been for Makoto.)

Keith smiled. “I’m Cato.”

That girl smiled. “Nice to meet you, Cato. I noticed you haven’t spoken a word since you got here.”

Just as he was about to reply, the announcement of their arrival in Shinkoshoku sounded through the loudspeakers. Keith got up, grabbed his bags, gave the girl another smile, and left.

He’s quite looking forward to what this place has to offer him.

**Author's Note:**

> Trivia:  
> \- At first, Cato hides half his face behind his hair only when he’s singing because he’s too embarrassed to sing in public and he doesn’t like feeling people’s eyes on him. But it kind of became a habit and Cato started hiding his face even when he’s not singing, because he likes the feeling.  
> \- His name is still Keith in the school’s registry, but he introduces himself as Cato to everyone so only the teachers know his real name, but they call him Cato too.  
> \- He can only manage small polite smiles. Anything beyond that, like grins, smirks, and smiles that show teeth are impossible for him.  
> \- He likes wearing loose-fitting clothes because they feel comfortable.  
> \- He’s very stubborn. If he genuinely doesn’t want to do something, he won’t do it no matter what anyone said.  
> \- He’s still very unsociable even now.  
> \- He never combs his hair, even though it’s shoulder-length, but funnily enough, they don’t look messy. You won’t realize the truth about his hair until you actually run your fingers through it.  
> \- Cato dislikes physical contact to a certain degree. If it doesn’t have to happen, he will avoid it, but there are instances where he doesn’t mind physical contact, even initiating it. But these instances are few and far in between.


End file.
